76 Sam Shepard Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

A vagabond named Travis Henderson walks out of the West Texas desert and is reunited with his brother Walt. Travis has been missing for four years, and Walt has adopted Travis’s son Hunter as his mother Jane is also missing. As Travis starts reconnecting with his son, the two go on a cross-country trip to find Jane.

The Right Stuff is a historical drama adventure film, which tells the story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and how they approach their space program. 

In 1916, Chicago steel-worker Bill flees to Texas with girlfriend and sister, after a fight with foreman. While working for a rich but dying farmer, Bill and girlfriend Abby pose as siblings. When the farmer proposes marriage Bill encourages Abby, so as to claim his wealth. Later, the farmer realizes the truth, but by then Abby has fallen in love with him.

Adapted from the 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks, the movie begins with an elderly man narrating a romance story from his notebook to a woman suffering from dementia. The story revolves around the love of a young couple in 1940s, who get separated due to the differences in social status but eventually find their way to each other

Frances is a biopic which takes a look at the various significant events in the life and career of Frances Farmer, American actress and TV host, including her rise to fame and how she got blacklisted.

Black Hawk Down relives on the big screen the US military's 1993 raid of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The Academy Award-winning war film, made by Ridley Scott, is based on a 1999 non-fiction book of the same name.

Adapted from 1983 novel by Ron Hansen, this epic crime drama film, has won multiple awards for its cinematography. It tells the story of how outlaw, Jesse James is assassinated by his jealous recruits Charley and Robert Ford. However, their plan backfires as they neither receive the prize money the governor had promised nor fame for killing Jesse!   

Zabriskie Point is a drama film which tells the story of a young revolutionary and an anthropology student who begin an unrestrained relationship, during the time of civil unrest in the US in the late 1960s.

Two teenagers Ellis and Neckbone discover fugitive Mud, wanted for murder ,living in a boat on a small island in the Mississippi River. They agree to help him reunite with his lover Juniper. But things take a violent turn when the family of the man he killed arrives to take revenge.  

A man is locked up for killing an intruder with a baseball bat, although it was unintentional. He is sentenced for three years, and now he must cope with the harsh and violent prison life.

The story focuses on the bond shared by a group of ladies in a small Louisiana town. At the center is a young beautician, who arrives here after encountering personal tragedy and finds work in a home based salon.  Soon, she is befriended by its patrons and becomes a part of the group, sharing joys and misfortunes with them, starting a new life in the process.     

After spending several years in a psychiatric hospital in New York, Julius is placed in the custody of his brother Peter, who lives with a poet named Allen Ginsberg.  

Following the disappearance of alcoholic poet Beverly Weston, his stubborn, rude wife, Violet, who is suffering from oral cancer calls her sister and daughters for help. They also bring their respective dysfunctional families and soon it is discovered that Beverly drowned. Unfortunately, Violet’s behavior and brutal truth-telling will only drive everyone away.  

Captain Sam Cahill’s helicopter is shot down while he is on duty in Afghanistan. His brother Tommy takes over the responsibilities of his brother’s family comprising his wife and two daughters. When Sam returns from captivity, he is emotionally scarred and finds it difficult to accept the changes that have taken place in his absence.

Renaldo and Clara is an American documentary film, which is about Bob Dylan, revolving around his lyrics and life. The film shows concert footage, documentary interviews as fictional vignettes. 

An FBI agent of mixed blood is sent to a reservation for an investigation of a homicide. He is partnered with a veteran named Agent Frank who thinks that the culprit might be Maggie Bear, a Native American political activist.

As he resumes working at a steel mill after release from jail, Russell Baze finds his brother Rodney, an Iraq war veteran who incurred a huge debt gambling, missing following an illegal bare-knuckle prizefight with sociopathic drug dealer Harlan DeGroat. When the police refuse to go after the culprit, he takes it upon himself to attain justice.

After criminal Tobin Frost acquires a data storage device for an MI6 agent, he is attacked by mercenaries. He surrenders to the American consulate, who place him in a safe house under rookie agent Matt Weston. The two men then try to survive assassins and the CIA while uncovering the truth. 

Retiring detective, Jerry Black, promises a mother to find the murderer of her young daughter. Unconvinced that it’s an open-and-shut case, Jerry buys petrol-pump, moves in that area where he discovers more cases and clues. As he grows closer to bartender Lori, her young daughter reports befriending a person nearer to suspect’s description. So now Jerry has to quickly nab the killer. 

Based on two memoirs, one by Valerie Plame and the other by her diplomat husband, the film follows the life of Valerie Plame, an intelligence officer involved in several important projects. She has been able to hide her profession from the outside world until husband’s article in a popular magazine angers the White House and her identity is leaked. 

Cold in July is a crime drama film, which tells the story of a protective father who shoots an intruder right in the head in order to defend himself and his family. However, he starts fearing for his family, after the deceased man’s father threatens to kill them all.

Kazuo, a Japanese American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor, who is also a fisherman. Since the World War II had just passed, the trial occurs in the midst of strong anti-Japanese sentiments, but a local journalist thinks of helping Kazuo prove his innocence, although he has an agenda of his own.       

Howard Spence is an aging cowboy who decides to desert the film he is working on, and instead try to reconnect with his mother, whom he has not met for three decades. He falls into a great depression and nearly becomes suicidal upon learning about his child he never knew about. However, this gives him a reason to keep living.

Butch Cassidy is a criminal who has been on the run for many years. He wants to visit his home one last time to pay a visit to his family, and therefore eventually he embarks on a journey along with a young thief. However, their journey is not easy, as they are targeted by vicious gangs and corrupt lawmen.

Law student, Darby Shaw, writes a brief with a theory as to why two Supreme Court justices were killed and she herself becomes the target of the assassin. As she is forced to go on the run, she reaches out to reporter Gray Grantham for help and uncovers a conspiracy involving senior Government officials. 

After a cult tries to exploit 8 years old Alton Meyer who was born with extraordinary supernatural powers, his biological father, Roy, rescues the child. Now on the run from FBI and cult members, Roy must protect the child at all costs and help Alton to return to his real world. 

Paul and his wife Diane are going through the worst times of their lives, as their daughter is dying from a rare degenerative lung condition. Even though a lung transplant is going to save her life, they are unable to find a donated lung from a suitable donor. Paul soon learns about his associate, Harrison, who somehow managed to get an organ transplant from the black market. However, Harrison tells him that he has no idea how to contact the man Navarro, who helped him get the transplant.

Gabriel wants the huge amount of illegal government funds to finance the counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell. He hires a convicted hacker Stanley Jobson, who wants to be back with his daughter Holly, for the job. However, Stanley soon realises that Gabriel and Ginger, his associate, have a far bigger plan. Meanwhile a federal agent, Roberts, is suspicious about Gabriel.

Charlotte’s Web is an adventure comedy film, which tells the story of a pig who realizes that he is going to be slaughtered for food very soon. Therefore, he hatches a plan with a spider that lives in his pen to ensure that he won’t be killed. 

JC Wiatt is a young urban woman living in Manhattan, who is quite committed to her demanding and high-profile job.  Her life takes a turn when she discovers that a long-lost cousin has passed away, and has left her a baby girl as inheritance.

Three petty thieves, during the American financial crisis, rob a mob protected card game. This hits the underworld economy badly. The Mob members hire hitman, Jackie Cogan, to find the culprits and punish them. Jackie enlists Mickey to help him, but Mickey is more interested in other things. Now Jackie, who likes his targets to be killed softly, has to carry out the job alone.

Based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, this suspense drama film tells the story of Hamlet, a young filmmaker, who learns that the person behind his father’s death is none other than Claudius, his uncle, who is also now his step-father. When Claudius learns about Hamlet’s plan for revenge, he tries to use Ophelia, the girl Hamlet is in love with.

John Grady Cole is a young cowboy who finds himself in a homeless situation. Along with his best friend Lacey, he decides to move to Mexico looking for work. They meet a young aristocrat’s daughter on the way named Alejandra, and Cole falls in love with her. However, things take a turn and soon they find themselves in trouble with the law.

Maria Alvarez, a poor farm girl, and Sara Sandoval, a wealthy landowner’s daughter, join forces and become a bank-robbing duo in their effort to combat against a ruthless land baron who tries to capture their lands. 

The Accidental Husband is a romantic comedy film which revolves around Emma Lloyd, a radio host, who advises one of her listeners Sophia to break up with her fiancé Patrick. After Sophia breaks up with Patrick, Patrick decides to enter Emma’s life and teach her a lesson. He plans to end the relationship between Emma and her perfect gentleman fiancé Richard.  

Set in near future, the story involves Extreme Deep Invader (EDI), an unmanned plane designed to hit overseas targets.  Three US navy fighter pilots have been put in charge of its training; one of whom does not trust its artificial intelligence. But when the plane is hit by lighting, he realizes that he must stop it before it sparks another world war. 

The Return is a psychological horror film which revolves around Joanna Mills, a traveling business woman, who suffers nightmares of a murder that had occurred many years ago. Although she avoids returning to her hometown, she eventually agrees, in order to secure an important client. However, she is soon drawn to the same place where the murder had occurred.